Autumn Daze

The promise of Autumn is only slightly detectable this year. I look for it in late August and sometimes I am rewarded early. But this year is different. The weather has been unusually warm and humid for Southern California.  Cool evenings have been replaced by close, muggy nights. Not my favorite, that is for sure.


I  see the subtle signs all around me even though I have to look a little harder. The trees in the parkway have a few red pops among the green. Father down the street, where the ocean breeze must blow a little cooler and longer, the trees are almost all red.

The line of cars waiting to pick up the kids from school every afternoon snakes up and around the hill. a sure sign that summer is over. It just hasn't caught up with the temperature yet.

Hopeful for a change, I   proceed with my usual seasonal  tradition.  The inside of the home is decked out with warm Fall colors. .

My grandchildren love to see the tables change every season. It gives us all something to look froward to .

The pumpkins,fall leaves and  pheasants have replaced the shells, starfish and sea glass of summer on my dining room table.

 Warm candles glow every sunset in every room. The smell of cinnamon and other spices permeate the air.

I come home each evening to a warm, cozy embracing environment and I feel safe and loved.


My favorite time of year has arrived and I am in an Autumn Daze.

Imagination

The other day, I watched a wonderful movie that reminded me of the importance of using our imaginations. It was called The Magic of Belle Island.

A crotchety old author moved to the Island to drink away the rest of his days in bitterness and disappointment His neighbors, a newly divorced mother and her three daughters changed all of that for him.  His impact on  their lives was powerful as well.

One of the girls had a vivid imagination, but she was not aware of her gift. She wanted to learn from the author how to tell a story. He reluctantly became her mentor. And as often happens, the teacher becomes the student. They both learned from each other about life, love and how to tell a story. It was very inspiring.

The process of Transcendent Art takes some imagination. One of the great joys of my life is painting and telling stories to go with the paintings.  I love to imagine different scenes that reside outside of my view. I can spin a tale about  unseen places and get away from the cares of the world for a few moments.

They are stolen moments that come with much peace and joy for me. And my  hope for anyone viewing them and listening to the story will come away with a new perspective, relaxed and hopeful for the future.  Please join me on this imaginative journey. A sample is available in the Gallery section of my website, www.drjuliette.com

Transcend

Transcendent Art came about as a result of my collaboration with an innovative , Emmy winning  design team. Together, we combined my original fine art with reflective, relaxing audio created specifically for each painting . The audio , using my voice and soft background music, takes the viewer on an imaginative journey through the painting. At first, we travel through what is visible on the canvas , pausing along the way to do deep breathing and relaxation techniques. The journey progresses to a place beyond the painting where imagination takes over. using guided imagery, deep breathing and autogenic training, viewing art takes on a new dimension . The benefits of this method are lower blood pressure, balanced heart rate, a relaxed state of well being and increased self esteem.

Here is a sample of one of the first offerings, my painting, Lazy Afternoon.

Can you imagine yourself in this canoe on a lazy afternoon? Feel the water gently rock you until all the cares of the world have dropped away. Imagine yourself leaving this canoe for a while to explore the unknown places that await you. It is your journey to take and to imagine and to use whenever you chose to bring yourself into a state of well being, relaxation, and increased self esteem.

This is a tiny bit of what Transcendent Art is designed  to do.

I hope you will come along and travel with me to a better place.

January 8,1962

January 8, 1962

Before I went to bed the night before I gave birth, I gazed out at a bright, full harvest moon. It had been an inordinately hot day in Southern California for early January. The temperatures had risen to 95 degrees breaking all previous records for that date. It was strange , because just a few days before, my husband and visiting mother –in-law sloshed through mud to view the Rose Parade floats at the  viewing park they are placed in after the parade. I’m not a fan of heat, even in summer, and winter heat just aggravates me. My swollen, nine month pregnant frame, was ready for a change. And change was in the air.

My mother-in law teased me about being giddy. I guess I was. I just couldn’t wait to have my baby and start a new life. Her due date was the 9^th. I was sure, like the rest of my relatives, I would still have a bit of a wait and I was getting inpatient.

Early the next morning, the beginning signs of labor became apparent. Off to the hospital we went, prepared for our new bundle of joy.

Later that evening, Lisa Anne Sprenger, 6 pounds 3 ounces , was born. She was a beautiful, strawberry blond , fair skinned baby, a stark contrast to my dark hair and olive skin. The nurses kept checking my identification to make sure they were bringing me the correct baby from the nursery. It made me laugh. Even though I am 100 % Italian, there are many fair haired, fair skinned beauties in our heritage. Besides that, my husband ‘s heritage is Swiss German. I was happy for the security anyway and so happy to be a Mom at last.

Lisa has always been an artistic creative child. When she was little, and supposedly “napping”, she would take Kleenex and make characters  from the fibers. Everyday I would find something creative that she had made during her “nap” . They would be recognizable dogs, cats, people. Whatever her mind could create.

When she was about 6 or 7, she found pieces of 2 x 4’s in the yard. She took the wood and drew faces on each piece, took scraps of fabric and dressed them and made a nativity scene. The barn was made of an old army blanket topped with a starfish. So creative.  It was the most heartfelt nativity scene of any I have ever seen.

 Another year, she took and old basket, some discarded perfume bottles and scraps of fabric and made another nativity scene.

Lisa has always loved Christmas and I would venture to say, secretly still believes in Santa. We can also include, the Easter Bunny , Tooth Fairy, and of course, Mermaids. Any trip to the beach was spent in constant pursuit of mermaid sightings. 

It is Lisa’s undying sense of wonder that makes her the creative Pre-school  teacher she is today.

It seems virtually impossible that 50 years have passed… in a heartbeat.

For the past 18 years, Lisa and her husband Tabb, have lived in Washington. It suits her there. She blends into the natural flow of life with ease. The change of seasons , rain and snow ,are always greeted with her continued sense of wonder. We miss her so much and often go there or send for her to come here. Our visits are packed with favorite pastimes, meals and memories. Lisa and Tabb have a good life and we are comforted by their love and devotion to each other and their pets.

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl. You continue to be the delightful, loving child that I first gazed upon 50 years ago. Your spirit is still as  young as it was on that day. And I know that it will always be kept young by your sense of wonder and creativity.

I love you, Mom

Merry Christmas

Long after the decorations are taken down and stored for another time, the memories of Christmas day linger on in the photograpsh I have treasured all these years.

My first Christmas brought a smile to my face. I'm sure I must have been singing too. It's what I do.

As a young Mother in 1965, I proudly sent out photos of my precious babies. There were more to come.

As the years passed, we grew.

And now we're happy to be with as many as we can on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas to all

Seeing RED

Beautiful berries growing wild

A Mailbox festooned with color

A Welcoming front door

Fall leaves decorating my path

The trees decked out in riotous color

Even nature celebrates the Christmas Season with Color

November 7,1986

They say that true love is made up of passion, commitment and intimacy. On a windy hill, twenty five years ago, standing on the site of our future home, we pledged to spend the rest of our lives together sharing the passion, commitment and intimacy of our lives together. It has been a wonderful, rich journey, one that I never want to end.   So many happy memories have been born in that short span of time. We built our dream home on the very ground we stood on while taking our vowels. We shared the joy of each of our children’s wedding days there. Their unions have blessed us with 8 beautiful and unique grandchildren who give us enormous joy every day of our lives. We built a private practice together, spending every day of the last 25 together. So many memories, blessings….too numerous to mention. But the one word that permeates all the years, all the memories and all the blessing is LOVE.  HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO MY WONDERFUL, HUSBAND, VANCE. YOU HAVE MADE MY DREAMS COME TRUE. I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER.

College Bound

Over eighteen years ago, still warm from her mother's womb, I held her in my arms for the first time. She opened her eyes, looked straight at me and seemed to say, I have known you all my life. I fell in love instantly and have never stopped ...I never will.

Today she left for College. We miss her already.  We are  so proud of her. She has worked so hard to get where she is, often through adversity. All of our hopes and prayers are with her today and all the days of her life.

Good Luck and Godspeed , Chanel. Papa and I are  always with you.

I Love you,  Ama

Fall is my favorite time of year. It could be because I was born on the first day of Fall. I love the feel of the air, the change of the sun position. Shorter days and cooler mornings all herald the arrival of Fall. This morning, as I lay by the open door doing my deep breathing exercises, I inhaled the most glorious scent. It was the cool, wet, smell of the end of the Summer. I could feel the moisture on my face as I gazed out at the trees in our parkway. There were punches of color sprinkled through the branches. A promise of more to come. The sky was a deep blue frosted with white, frothy clouds. Fall is on the way. The scent of freshly sharpened pencils and newly opened crayons, in my MInd's Eye ,takes me back to many, many summers long ago. My grandchildren all embark on new beginnings. My eldest,Chanel, is off to her first year of college, Nina will be a sophomore in high school ,Solomon and Braden each start middle school, Rem goes into fifth grade as Piper begins first grade and Saxon enters kindergarten. All my babies are in transition and so am I.   Summer to Fall.....my favorite transition. Lisa, my eldest daughter, greeted her new students today in her little schoolhouse in Washington. How lucky they are to have her for their teacher for the year. There is no one better equipped to start them off on such a high note. I can just imagine the classroom with all of her touches lovingly and thoughtfully placed. How much fun they will have. During an unexpected visit last week, Lisa sprinkled touches of Fall throughout my house.  Even though we are still technically in summer, we decided to decorate my home for Fall. We both have a tradition that we change our interiors with each season. It was such a treat to have a chance to do it with her this time. Now, when I walk through the rooms of my home, her spirit is there to cheer me.

Some Favorite Landscapes

Peace

Misty Morning

Venezia

Another Montreal Autumn

The Count's Courtyard

Portofino

The Eighteenth of July, 1951

On July 17th, 1951, a tropical storm crept up the Coast of California from the Gulf of Mexico leaving thick, muggy air in its path. I brushed the damp, sticky hair off my shoulder as I finished the last of my chores. The house was quiet except for the muffled laughter coming from somewhere outside. Glancing out the window, I saw my pregnant Mother and little sister, Tina, laughing and giggling in the wading pool on the lawn outside the kitchen window. Mom waddled back and forth cooling her red, swollen feet. My 5 year old sister splashed and pretended to do the breast stroke in the tiny pool. She was doing just as I had taught her when we played make believe together. Esther Williams would have been proud of the rendition. I was an overly responsible child for someone so young. I felt very protective of my sister and Mother. It had been a rough year for us all but we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of a new life. Perhaps it would be a boy to carry on the Cevola name. Maybe everything would change and peace would reign in our household. It made me happy to see them so light hearted.   I had spent all of my summer vacation so far trying to relieve my Mother of some of the burdens of household chores. Taking it upon myself, I washed down the kitchen walls that I had heard her say she would like to have cleaned but couldn’t do herself.  Very early the next morning, my Dad woke me to tell me that it was time to take Mom to the hospital. He kissed me softly and told me to go back to sleep and he would call when the baby was born. It was still dark out and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I could hardly wait to hear about the new baby. Hours later, I got my wish.. My brother, Alfonso Mario Cevola, his grandfather’s namesake, was born. Everyone was elated. A week later, Mom and Dad presented my sister and me with the new bundle of joy. Our family was complete and the family name would survive for another generation.     Al, as we called him, was a lively curious boy. He was a handsome child with beautiful curly hair and enviably long double eyelashes. I lamented the fact that he was so perfect. It really didn’t seem fair. He was a BOY, after all. Because of our almost 13 year age span, I was more of a surrogate Mother than a sister. Over the years, that has changed somewhat. Nevertheless, I still think of Al as my baby brother. As he grew, Alfonso would take a keen interest in a certain subject or activity and then learn everything he could about it. His interests varied over the years, from baseball in the early years to cameras, cars, travel, wine.... they all became his passion.  The years have had their challenges for Alfonso and the rest of us as well. He has weathered the storms and come out a stronger, wiser man. I am proud of the man he has become. Time has defined him well. As a young man, he honored the world with his only child, Rafael. Two kindred souls sharing Planet Earth.  His focus was on his son, making sure that he knew he was loved and cared for and accepted for himself. There was never any doubt in my mind that Rafael was always Alfonso's top priority. Sixty years have passed in the flutter of an eyelash. Years of memories, experiences, friendships, joy, laughter, love, heartaches, passion, travel, disappointments, elation, success, fulfillment. There is so much more to come…..everyday is the beginning of a new adventure. Enjoy your life! It’s yours to live! Happy 60th Birthday, Alfonso. I Love You, Sis